- The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 23, 2017

A new face of the Islamic State is a 10-year-old American boy the terror army claims came to Syria two years ago with his mother from the United States.

In a new ISIL propaganda video, the boy is identified as an American citizen named “Yusuf” and says he is the son of a U.S. service member who deployed to Iraq.

“This battle is not going to end in Raqqa or Mosul. It’s going to end in your lands,” the boy says.

He looks straight at the camera lens to deliver an anti-Donald Trump diatribe, speaking in what sounds like Americanized English. He is shown living among the residences and destruction of Raqqa, the central Syrian city that ISIL claimed as the capital of its Muslim caliphate.

Scenes depict him with a male friend, Abdallah, 7, horsing around at home, walking among the rubble and learning how to fire a sniper rifle.

The video was obtained by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), which monitors jihadis. MEMRI could not confirm the boy’s identify.


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The U.S.-led coalition is bombing his adopted home, he says “because the Muslims living in it have learned the meaning of jihad and have established the rule of Allah…”

“We are not scared of their planes, because we know they don’t fly except by the rule of Allah.”

“My message to Trump, the puppet of the Jews, Allah has promised us victory and promised you defeat. This battle is not going to end in Raqqa or Mosul, it’s going to end in your lands. By the will of Allah, we will have victory, so get ready for the fighting has just begun.”

The government estimates that about 250 U.S. residences have traveled to Syria to join ISIL, an act that constitutes a terrorism crime. Others have been arrested as they planned to leave America.

The ongoing battle for Raqqa––led by Syrian Arabs and Kurds on the ground who are guided by American special forces and aided by airstrikes–––has seen the coalition conquer about 40 percent of the city.

• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.

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